Category Archives: Theses and Dissertations

Being vulnerable is what we all share

Dutch journalist and writer Stevo Akkerman recently interviewed member of the Ethics of Care webteam and care ethicist Jeannet van de Kamp for the national Dutch newspaper Trouw about her PhD thesis Disguised Suffering.

The caption of the article reads “We have to face the reality that being vulnerable is our common ground.” Akkerman puts the focus in his article on only a small portion of the encompassing dissertation of Van de Kamp, e.g. her description of a contemporary hospital.
As even there human suffering is being disguised in manifold ways, this fact by itself illustrates in her opinion a wider phenomenon in our Western society. Continue reading Being vulnerable is what we all share

Disguised Suffering

Jeannet van de Kamp is one of the editors of our international website ethicsofcare.org She is the last one of the PhD candidates of care ethicist Frans Vosman († 2020).
On Monday, January 19, 2026, at 13.45 CET (sharp), Jeannet van de Kamp will defend her dissertation: Disguised suffering. A care ethical inquiry into the late modern ideal of a ‘succesful life’. She dedicates her book, a monograph of 540 pages, to Frans Vosman. Continue reading Disguised Suffering

Practical wisdom: vital core of professionalism in medical practices

The subject of the PhD thesis of Marij Bontemps is practical wisdom, “.. the virtuous capacity to .. discover what is morally relevant, knowing how to decide, knowing how to act, as well as knowing how to learn from what was not done well. Continue reading Practical wisdom: vital core of professionalism in medical practices

A fair balance in health data protection and promotion

In her dissertation A fair balance. Health data protection and the promotion of health data use for clinical and research purposes, Irith Kist discusses the complexity of obtaining consent for the use of health data in health care and scientific research. Continue reading A fair balance in health data protection and promotion

The fragile voices from the work floor. Care-ethical power issues reconsidered

Social worker Silke Jacobi MA considers in the summary of her care-ethical thesis (2019) the possibilities of more impact and (political) participation of the institutional care-worker in an ambiguous neo-liberal context. Continue reading The fragile voices from the work floor. Care-ethical power issues reconsidered